Email stuck in draft folder

Question

I tried to send an email with a large attachment yesterday. It is stuck in drafts and I can't seem to be able to delete or empty that folder. It just continues to circle.

Answer 1

Can you please try moving that email from Drafts to another folder?

Answer 2

May I know the size of the attachment you are trying to send?

Answer 3

Hi! Let me help you.

Have you tried deleting it on Outlook web?

Answer 4

Follow these steps in classic Outlook for Windows to clear the stuck draft with the large attachment:

1. Make sure Outlook is online and connected

• Look at the status bar at the bottom of Outlook.
• If it shows Disconnected, Working Offline, or Trying to connect…, go to Send/Receive tab and select Work Offline once to toggle back online.
• After it shows connected, try deleting the draft again.

2. Remove the large attachment from the draft

• Go to the Drafts folder.
• Open the stuck message.
• If it has a large attachment (typically over 20 MB), select the attachment in the message and press Delete to remove it.
• Click Send again if you still want to send the email, or close and delete the message if you no longer need it.

3. If the draft still won’t clear

• Close Outlook.
• Reopen Outlook and go back to Drafts.
• Try deleting the draft again.

If the message was ever moved to Outbox instead of Drafts, open it from Outbox, remove the large attachment as above, then send again or delete it.

---

References:

• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• My email message doesn't send
• Outlook email stuck

AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.